Bain & Company formalizes partnership with seven flagship venture capital firms to drive AI innovation opportunities for clients

Bain & Company's Venture Ecosystem helps clients tap into innovation by connecting them to leading venture capitalists, technology experts, and startups

BOSTON, Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, today announced a partnership with seven leading venture capital firms as the core part of its Venture Ecosystem to connect startup innovators with corporate leaders seeking to explore disruptive technology.

The rapid evolution of AI technology and significant rise in capital funding in the startup ecosystem has made it essential for corporations to stay ahead on innovation. Bain & Company is partnering with top-tier venture capital firms at the forefront of the AI transformation, including Bain Capital Ventures, Battery Ventures, ICONIQ, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, and NEA. These seven firms account for approximately $190 billion in assets under management (AUM) and 290 unicorns across their active portfolios of more than 2,000 companies. Additionally, these firms have collectively been early backers of groundbreaking AI innovators such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, Databricks, and others.

"We're excited to partner with these leading venture capitalists who are backing the most innovative companies in the world," said Rishi Roongta, Partner at Bain & Company and founder of the firm's Venture Ecosystem. "These investors have a front-row view into where technology is headed and the founders who are building the future."

The partnership gives Bain & Company's clients direct access to disruptive technology companies through the firm's Venture Ecosystem, a global team with deep experience working with venture capitalists, startups, and corporate leaders. Since launching in 2017, the Venture Ecosystem has delivered more than 250 executive immersions and facilitated over 3,000 connections between startups and Bain & Company's clients, alongside these leading VC partners, helping organizations connect with leading disruptors shaping innovation in their industries.

"Our partnership with Bain & Company brings our portfolio companies and Fortune 500 executives together to solve real problems," said Houman Haghighi, Partner at Menlo Ventures. "It creates genuine dialogue between the people building the future and the leaders navigating it, driving real transformation."

"AI is moving faster than ever, and the tailored executive immersion that Bain & Company hosted for our leadership team connected us directly with leading startups and VCs on the cutting edge of AI," said Brad Thompson, SVP, Technology at Target. "The experience sharpened our perspective on where AI is headed and exposed us to solutions already gaining real customer traction and delivering compelling value to companies like ours. I highly recommend any executive team looking to drive an AI transformation take the time to spend it with the investors and disruptors building the future of AI."

Bain & Company is launching this partnership to spur AI innovation among clients as it rapidly expands its own digital teams across its AI, Insights, and Solutions practice, which includes more than 1,500 AI, data, analytics, architecture, and engineering experts. The group integrates closely with the firm's industry and capability practices to deliver holistic business and technology solutions. Bain & Company has also significantly expanded its wider digital and AI ecosystem of partner organizations, including forming key alliances with OpenAI, Microsoft, AWS, Google, SAP, Salesforce, IBM, and Palantir.

"At Bain & Company, we see every day that large enterprises want to tap into the latest AI technology to transform their business, but understanding who to work with in this ever-growing ecosystem can be challenging," said Chuck Whitten, Partner at Bain & Company and global head of the firm's digital practices and capabilities. "Alongside our Venture Ecosystem partners, we help clients cut through the noise by connecting them to the most relevant AI startups and venture investors. This ecosystem helps our clients move faster and bolder."

To learn more about Bain & Company's Venture Ecosystem, visit here: https://www.bain.com/vector-digital/venture-ecosystem/

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About Bain & Company
Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world's most ambitious change makers define the future.

Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today's urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 1% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry.

SOURCE Bain & Company